1996: The Rapids got their team history underway with a 3-0 loss at Kansas City against
the Wiz on April 13. In the club's first home game eight days later, they would
defeat the Dallas Burn, 3-1 in front of 21,711 spectators. The club featured
stars such as Marcello Balboa, Roy Wegerle and Shaun Bartlett, and was under the
guidance of Bobby Houghton. But despite the star-studded team that they had,
the Rapids finished the season with a disappointing record of 11-21 and had the
unfortunate honor of being the first Western Conference team to not make the playoffs.1997: The Rapids would enter their second season with high hopes under new coach Glenn
"Mooch" Myernick. The Rapids would start the season off on the wrong foot, but
would eventually come together and qualify for the playoffs for the first time
despite a sub-500 record of 14-18. As the fourth seed in the West, the Rapids went
up against the top-seeded Kansas City Wizards. The Rapids shocked the soccer
nation by becoming the first team in history to knock off the top seed in the
first round, sweeping the Wizards in two games. The Cinderella Rapids didn't stop
there as they also swept the Dallas Burn in the Conference Finals to advance
to their first MLS Cup despite being the lowest seed in the Western Conference.
1997 MLS Cup: The Rapids hoped that they would put themselves on top of the US soccer world with
one more upset at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. But they found themselves going
up against defending champion and hometown DC United. In a steady downpour,
United went on top on a 37th minute goal by Jaime Moreno and Tony Sanneh provided
insurance in the 68th minute. Adrian Paz would bring the Rapids to within a
goal in the 75th minute, but it was too late. In front of 57,431 supporters, United
held on to strike midnight on the Rapids with a 2-1 win for their second
straight title. 1998: Hoping to return to MLS Cup, the Rapids took a step backwards and lost 8 of their
first 11 games. But after that, they proceeded to win 8 of their next 10 to get
back into contention. The rest of the way, the team played mediocre soccer, but
it was enough for them to qualify for the playoffs with an even .500 record,
16-16. But in the playoffs, the Rapids went up against the expansion Chicago Fire
and would fall to them in a sweep.
1999: The Rapids started the season on a hot streak with a record of 12-4 and sat atop
the Western Conference. They would come back to earth and slip down to fourth place
in the Western Conference. The Rapids held a record of 20-12 and went up against
the Los Angeles Galaxy in the first round of the playoffs. They had nothing
to show for or prove as they were easily swept by the Galaxy while failing
to score a single goal.
2000: With realignment, the Rapids once again struggled to make the postseason. They had
trouble on all parts of the team as they had to wait until the final weekend
of the season to qualify for the playoffs with a 1-0 overtime win against the Los
Angeles Galaxy at home. As the 8th seed in the playoffs, the Rapids were defeated
by the top-seeded Kansas City Wizards.
2001: Coach Glenn "Mooch" Myernick resigned in the offseason and was replaced by former
Tampa Bay Mutiny coach Tim Hankinson. Under Hankinson, the Rapids would struggle
and miss the playoffs for the first time in 5 years with an abysmal 5-13-8 record.
2002: Going into their first full season at Invesco Field, not much was immediately expected
from the Rapids after a disappointing season, but in the dispersal draft
in January, they added several key players and were favorites to contend in the
West. The Rapids would have a seesaw season, but used a strong last third of the
year to qualify for the playoffs with a record of 13-11-4. The Rapids would
go on to beat the Dallas Burn in the first round of the playoffs on a series tiebreaking
goal by Mark Chung in game 3 for their first playoff series win since
1997. The Rapids would run out of gas in the next round, losing to the Los Angeles
Galaxy.
2003: The Rapids would again get off to a slow start and were near the cellar of the West
in late May, but in June, the Rapids began to turn it on. Between July and October,
the Rapids were the hottest team in MLS and would make the playoffs despite
a dismal record of 11-12-7. The early struggles were what caused the losing
record. In the aggregate goal series, the Rapids would lose to the Kansas City
Wizards 3 goals to 1.2004: After acquiring star goalkeeper Joe Cannon, the Rapids would struggle out of the
gate, but would catch fire during the summer as Cannon began to prove his value.
By September, the Rapids would hold a small lead in the Western Conference and
were a threat around the league, but a 6-1 loss to the New England Revolution
on September 18 would send them into a tailspin. They were able to keep their
winning record, however, finishing 10-9-11, well enough for third in the West,
as Cannon was named Goalkeeper of the Year. In the conference semifinal, the Rapids
would win the first game against the LA Galaxy, but wound up losing the aggregate
goal series 2-1 as the Galaxy scored twice in game two. Following the season,
The Rapids would fire Tim Hankinson, and replace him with Fernando Clavijo.
2005: After winning just two games in the season's first two months, many thought this
would be a disappointing season for the Rapids. Joe Cannon would pick his game
up and it seemed to have a contagious effect as the Rapids played better through
most of the summer and would qualify for the playoffs with a .500 record of 13-13-6.
After a scoreless tie with FC Dallas in the first game of their aggregate
goal playoff series, the two teams would play overtime after a 1-1 regulation
tie. Dallas would score in the overtime, but the Rapids would respond and score
with a goal of their own. The score would hold up that way through the rest
of overtime. In the subsequent shootout, the Rapids outscored FC Dallas, to move
on to the conference final against the LA Galaxy. But that's where the line ended
for the Rapids, losing at home on two goals to Landon Donovan.
2006: The Rapids were determined to make their final year as a tenant in Invesco Field
at Mile High a dandy. That was not to be as they struggled, hovering above the
.500 mark all year long. In addition injuries would plague the club as well. Nevertheless,
the Rapids finished with a record of 11-13-8, good enough for fourth
place in the West, two points ahead of Los Angeles. Facing FC Dallas, the Rapids
would tie series at 3-3 in the aggregate goal first round, then proceeding
to defeat them in a shootout 5-4. That would be the end of the road for the Rapids
as a week later, they fell in the conference final for a second successive
year, this time to the Houston Dynamo, 3-1.
2007: In their season opener on April 7, the Rapids finally had a new stadium to call their
own, Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. To go along with the new
facility, the team changed their logo, colors and kits, resembling Arsenal. In
front of a sold-out crowd, the Rapids downed DC United, 2-1. But other than a
3-0-1 stretch during the summer, that would pretty much be the only bright spot
for the club in '07, posting a rebuilding-year-like record of 9-13-8, missing
the playoffs for the first time in six years.2008: Heading into the season the Rapids bolstered the roster by adding depth to the midfield
and defense, with the signings of Christian Gómez and Jose Burciaga Jr.
The Rapids would start the season strong with a complete thrashing of David Beckham
and the LA Galaxy by a 4-0 score on Opening Day to launch the season. However,
it would be the high point all season as the Rapids played mediocre soccer
all season, leading the dismissal of Coach Fernando Clavijo, under his replacement
Gary Smith the Rapids would be in the playoff chase to the very end of the
season, but missed the playoffs by one point, as Red Bull New York, who had a
better record grabbed the wild card fourth spot in the Western Conference over
the fourth place Rapids who posted a record of 11-14-5.2009: Looking to get back to the postseason, the Rapids played a bipolar-like season in
which they played great at home, winning eight, and played terribly on the road,
losing eight. Their road woes would ultimately cost them as their even 10-10-10
record left them on the outside looking in. Their 40 points were tied with
Real Salt Lake for the final playoff spot, but lost out on the goal differential
tiebreaker.
2010: The Rapids would get off to a decent start, winning six of their first ten matches
and spending the first half of the season in the top standings in the West. But
the team would suffer through a difficult summer, tying five and losing two
at one point. The good start to the season helped them to the playoffs with a 12-8-10
record. They would shift over to the East bracket because of an overload
of West teams qualified. Seeded third, the Rapids tied the Columbus Crew 2-2 on
aggregate in their quarterfinal matchup and then prevailed 5-4 on penalties.
In the conference final against the San Jose Earthquakes, a 42nd minute goal by
Kosuke Kimura held up for a 1-0 win.
2010 MLS Cup: Thirteen years after their only other appearance, the Rapids were back in MLS Cup,
squaring off against conference foe FC Dallas in Toronto. Early on, things didn't
look good as Dallas held the run of play and eventually took the lead on a
goal by regular season MVP David Ferreira in the 35th minute. But in the 57th
minute, Conor Casey put the Rapids on level terms with a goal while sitting down
during a scrum in the penalty area. The game remained tied and would head to
extra time. In the 107th minute, Macoumba Kandji dribbled into the box and attempted
to cross, but the ball deflected off FC Dallas defender George John and into
the net. The defense would hold up the rest of the period and the Rapids were
MLS champions for the first time. Casey's goal earned him MVP honors. 2011: The Rapids began a decent defense of their first MLS championship by busting out
of the gate with three straight wins. But a stretch of six straight ties set the
club back to the middle of the West pack and wins, losses and ties would be alternated
the rest of the way for a record of 12-9-13 which earned them a spot
in the MLS wild card round where they beat the Columbus Crew on a goal by Omar
Cummings. Then they would hit a brick wall in the next round, getting shut out
by Sporting Kansas City 4-0 on aggregate.
2012: Hoping to build on a wild card finish the year before, the Rapids would endure a
number of injuries to key players such as captain Carlos Bocanegra, Conor Casey
and Omar Cummings. That would conspire to give the Rapids two wins during the
summer, including a winless July, and seventh place finish of 11-19-4.
2013: After starting the season winless in their first five, the Rapids would go on a decent
run during the summer with a 5-0-4 stretch to help propel the young up-and-coming
club to the playoffs with a fifth-place record of 14-11-9. But the Rapids
wouldn't go any further as the Seattle Sounders shut them out 2-0 in the West's
knockout game.